Happy Weekend

Stuff that will make you think: In this interview Bill Gates talks about his thoughts on the state of our education system and where it should go.

Stuff that makes me happy: That this company exists

Stuff I want to eat: This recipe caters to my love of artichokes

Stuff I want to do: Can't wait to head to Williamsburg and go here

To all those in Boston, please stay safe.

Changing the world makes you happy

I'm not sure this comes as any surprise but kudos to Harvard Business School Prof Rosabeth Moss Kanter for putting it down on paper. In an article titled "The Happiest People Pursue the Most Difficult Problems" she gives several anecdotes about individuals tackling enormous social problems. These social entrepreneurs are happier then your average Joe because they are able to walk around every day knowing that what they are doing is making a difference.

"People can be inspired to meet stretch goals and tackle impossible challenges if they care about the outcome. I'll never forget the story of how a new general manager of the Daimler Benz operations in South Africa raised productivity and quality at the end of the apartheid era by giving the workers something to do that they valued: make a car for Nelson Mandela, just released from prison. A plant plagued by lost days, sluggish workers, and high rates of defects produced the car in record time with close to zero defects. The pride in giving Mandela the Mercedes, plus the feeling of achievement, helped the workers maintain a new level of performance. People stuck in boring, rote jobs will spring into action for causes they care about.

Heart-wrenching emotion also helps cultivate a human connection. It is hard to feel alone, or to whine about small things, when faced with really big matters of deprivation, poverty, and life or death. Social bonds and a feeling of membership augment the meaning that comes from values-based work."

A pretty good case to go out and do some good - even if it can't be your job every day. 

state of mind

the perfect getaway

One of the things I love most about the weather turning is the promise of weekends away and hiking in the neighboring Catskills. Phoenicia is a small quintessential American town in an ideal location about two hours outside of the city and in the heart of a beautiful landscape. It is also home to The Graham & Co., a retro inspired and perfectly styled cool hotel in a place that you wouldn't necessarily expect to find it. If I could live here, I would.

Innovation for good

On the occasion of its 100th anniversary, The Rockefeller Foundation is reflecting on its past  and working with the global community to highlight the innovations that will affect change for people in need over the next 100 years. They are asking the global community to nominate innovators whose work is improving the lives of poor and vulnerable populations. Three nominees will receive the Next Century Innovators Award and one of those awards will be based on your votes. I just looked through some of the nominees and it's so inspiring that there are so many people around the world doing such innovative work for social good.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday - and a significant one - so I want to take a moment to tell you a little bit about her.  My mom and I have a special relationship. I grew up as an only child and my parents divorced when I was young so it was the two of us through thick and thin. Through the years she has managed to not only be my mother, but my friend and a woman who I look up to and respect a great deal. She has shown me what it means to be a successful woman and has done it with a combination of grace and toughness that so many women strive to for. She is the most kind and generous person I know and I am so proud that she is my mom.

Mom,  I am so excited for you and all the wonderful things that the next year is sure to hold for you. 

Happy birthday! I love you to the moon and stars and back and a zillion times more.

image via style me pretty living

how do you think about work?

via workisnotajob

Beantown stay strong

There really are no words. I lived for a short time only a few blocks from the blast site and there is something about Boston as a city - it's so idealistic, so beautiful, so approachable - that makes this so wrong. I left my office yesterday in NYC and on the walk to the subway in Grand Central I found myself nervous - scared even. I know there are people around the world who live like this every day and I remember the time after 9/11 when all our lives were confronted with the realities of terrorism, but it still scares me. There are more questions then answers at this point, but we stand strong, we do better and help one another. That's all all we can do. My thoughts and prayers are with those in Boston.

Ruminating on Tattoos

I've been thinking a lot about tattoos recently - I feel like I'm having my teenage rebellious stage at the age of 31. There is something about marking your journey that appeals to me. I am a person who loses myself sometimes - I get caught between this corporate new york life I live and the simple, creative life of doing good that I seek. As I take steps to make changes I like the idea of a permanent reminder. I love location on the first picture and the calligraphy of the second. 

both images via Cup of Jo

Social Progress Imperative

We operate under the assumption, however misguided, that how well a country is doing is related to primarily to their economic success. In fact, we rarely look at any other indicators. Enter The Social Progress Imperative, a organization whose mission is to "advance global human well being." Partnering with Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, they developed The Social Progress Index which measures how 50 countries perform on a variety of indicators related to basic human needs.

Read more about the project here and find out where the U.S. ranks (hint: we're not in the top 5)

'The Social Progress Index was hatched at a World Economic Forum working group, where participants decided that they needed common frameworks to measure the problems they were working on. "The big conceptual step was to say that if we’re trying to measure the well-being of a society, the big thing we have to do is actually look at outcomes directly rather than proxy of economic indicators," explains Michael Green, the executive director of the Social Progress Imperative. "We’re looking at social and environmental outcomes directly, which means that the index isn’t determined by economic factors."'

Literary Sunday

If you are in NYC and looking for a lovely way to spend a Sunday (btw how great is that poster?!):

Living with less. A lot less

About a month ago there was a piece in the New York Times Sunday Review titled "Living With Less. A Lot Less." written by Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger (although he has since sold it), among other things. He talks about making money in a successful internet start-up and being consumed by things. I'm not sure it matters so much how he got to the place in his life where he decided to simplify (it involves a woman and traveling around world), but what does matter is the freedom he found in it. Immediately after reading that piece I started to purge my own apartment of all the unnecessary things I could find. Four big black trash bags later (sort of incredible since I live in a 475sq ft. apartment) and I felt a little bit better - lighter actually. Now there are things I won't give up, I love being surrounded by art and books so living with less has its limits for me but it is amazing how much better you feel surrounded by what is necessary for you - things that make you happy - and no judgement if that happens to be a closet full of shoes. 

Best Made Co.

I have never yielded an ax (although bring me a man who has... please) so it begs the question why a company whose trademark is an ax compels me.  Best Made Co. is a company that basically defines beauty in simplicity. Their goal is to create tools that can be passed down generation to generation and inspire people to get outside and go DO something.

Recently they posted a special feature about an Alaskan adventure that is full of images depicting the Best Made team doing exactly what they are trying to inspire you to do with their products. I love a company that lives and breathes what they create. It's clear Best Made Co. fits that bill.

Happy weekend

Stuff I didn't know anything about: social impact bonds. Very cool idea. Read more about them here and here and kudos to Illinois for being the second state to launch a program behind Massachussets and NYC

Stuff I want for my closet: this jacket and this dress

Stuff I want for my home: or rather for my terrace outside my teeny tiny apartment. this to help me get my dead plants back on track and this to give some light.

Stuff I love to look at: a well traveled woman is like eye candy for the soul

Stuff I'm excited about for the weekend: spending some down time with my puppy, catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones.

Happy Weekend everyone

art of entertaining

I am sort of fascinated with the art of entertaining. I am no good at it myself but those that are manage to create a magical moment in time out of a meal. Kinfolk magazine does a beautiful job of describing the art of finding beauty in simplicity around a table - whether it's for you alone or a party of friends. Here are some beautiful tables that I am sure inspire all kinds of gatherings:

image via Kinfolk

image via Vogue

image via House Beautiful

spurring innovation

So this is pretty cool, General Electric is partnering with Quirky and releasing thousands of their patents to the public all in an effort to spur innovation. In other words they are allowing anyone who is able to build upon what GE has already developed. At a time when we think of big business as inherently selfish and concerned only with their bottom line, it is so nice to see GE engaging public trust in the name of creativity and invention.

state of mind

so true

a girl's right to education

"Almost unnoticed, one of the great civil rights struggles of our times is being fought out in our midst. Across the Indian subcontinent, in Afghanistan and in Africa, supporters of universal girls’ education are being threatened, assaulted, bombed and murdered."

This excerpt is from an Op-Ed piece in Monday's New York Times by Gordon Brown. It is a haunting piece titled "Girls Who Risk Their Lives for Education" that tells unthinkable stories of the atrocities many young girls have met - and all they have been accused of is a desire to learn. 

Nathalie Bardou/Associated Press via NYTimes

Lead don't "Lean"

Ok so I was hoping this whole "Lean In" business would just blow over and that Sheryl Sandberg would find her way back to the Facebook campus and actually focus on her job, but alas...

I hesitated writing about my feelings related to this topic 1) because I have some pretty strong feelings and 2) because I hate the idea that I would be accused of not supporting other women (which we are often accused of, but which in reality is a total cop out - that is a subject for another time).

Let's start with the superficial: Lean In is about the worst phrase I can think of to describe what women need to do to become successful. It makes it sound like it's easy to get a seat at the table, when in truth if you aren't doing the things that "Lean In" is meant to imply, like being engaged, you probably haven't even made it into the hallway outside the room where the people making the decisions are meeting.

Just so you don't think I am totally anti this whole idea, I absolutely agree that women can get in their own way.  There is some sort of weird inbred societal complex that we all end up with that some how we have less of a right or at least more anxiety around being on an equal playing field with out male counterparts. And IT'S CRAZY! Some women deal with it better than others, but many if not all successful women I have spoken to have felt that at some point. But they got over it and realized they are just as smart and have every right to sit at the table and voice their opinion - which is again where I find Ms. Sandberg's case fairly irritating. I have heard her time and time again describe how she still has that kind of anxiety and worry about whether she belongs. Which leads me very nicely to my next point which is that she should not be writing this book right now. I'm not saying it's not a valuable conversation (perhaps framed differently) but I am saying she is not a good advocate for it. She has gotten extraordinary opportunities in her life and parlayed each into something bigger and better but I still don't know what she's done and to be honest I am not terribly inspired by the effectiveness of a woman who is still uncertain about her capabilities. I want to hear from a woman who has been uncertain and has not just been successful in spite of it but has overcome it. I want to hear from a woman who takes risks. I want to hear from a woman who doesn't tell me how to feel, but shows me how to lead.

old school

Because it finally feels like spring!

Doing what you love

"Actually, there is only one way in this world to achieve true happiness, and that is to express yourself with all your skill and enthusiasm in a career that appeals to you more than any other. In such a career, you feel a sense of purpose, a sense of achievement. You feel you are making a contribution. It is not work.
[…]
To my mind, the world would be a much pleasanter and more civilized place to live in, if everyone resolved to pursue whatever is closest to his heart’s desire. We would be more creative and our productivity would be vastly increased.

Altogether too much emphasis, I think, is being placed on what we ought to do, rather than what we want to do."

William J. Reilly

turning ideas into action

Most of you have probably heard of the Clinton Global Iniative, an organization Bill Clinton began in 2005 to "turn ideas into action." The organizations brings together leaders, innovators, scholars and others to tackle the worlds social problems.

What I recently learned about was CGIU, Clinton Global Initiative University. Leveraging CGI's successful model, CGIU brings together the next generation of leaders and inspires them to not just talk about the world's challenges, but to take action as well. This past weekend was their yearly conference, which included a fascinating panel moderated by Chelsea Clinton on the future for women and girls and concluded with a conversation between Bill Clinton and Stephen Colbert. Not bad huh? Clicking on the picture below will take you to an excerpt from that conversation.

Off-season beach day

I'm more of a mountain person than a beach person. I'd rather pull on hiking boots than a bathing suit, BUT there is something about a beach in the off season when the sky is blue with weather just warm enough to roll up your jeans and take a walk. Recently I drove out to West Hampton and got to enjoy that kind of day. So much fun getting back to the city and still having sand between my toes.

Good Design and Doing Good

I always find myself intrigued by great design, particularly when it's combined with doing good. Whether it's Warby Parker's retro-inspired eyewear that gives back to those in need or studios like IDEO (which I am completely obsessed with btw), who are using technology and design to help non-profits do better. Here is an excerpt from an article in the The Chronicle of Philanthropy on one such effort titled "A New Trend in Design Can Help Charities Do Better Work."


"In the United States, studios like IDEO.org, Frog Design, and Adaptive Path have started applying these principles to nonprofits. IDEO.org recently worked with MyCollege Foundation on a service-design project with the goal of creating a new college experience that “resonates with the needs and motivations of both low-income students and employers.” The result was the innovative nonprofit Portmont College, designed to “teach what employers are looking for” and adding credentials like teamwork and “learning to learn” to students’ transcripts.

These same principles can be applied across a wide array of nonprofit challenges: a family that recently lost its home and is looking for a shelter, a first-time volunteer looking to help out at a soup kitchen but uncertain where to go, or a scared parent without health insurance looking for a free clinic. Think about those you serve, where they look for information, how they found out about your organization, and the steps they took to receive your services. What are the points in these processes that are scary, confusing, frustrating, or degrading? Service design can provide the framework to make these interactions much better."

Eye candy

Need a job? Invent It.

When Thomas Friedman writes, I usually listen and his Op-Ed piece in Sunday's NYTimes titled "Need a Job? Invent It" was particularly intriguing. It is hard to find a job in this economy, much less a job that you like or dare I say love, so why not create one for youself? Below is an excerpt from the article. The link above will take you to the full story.


"When Tony Wagner, the Harvard education specialist, describes his job today, he says he’s “a translator between two hostile tribes” — the education world and the business world, the people who teach our kids and the people who give them jobs. Wagner’s argument in his book “Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People Who Will Change the World” is that our K-12 and college tracks are not consistently “adding the value and teaching the skills that matter most in the marketplace.”

words of wisdom

"Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep, really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough."

- Ernest Hemingway  (via ohlady)

state of mind

all images via awelltraveledwoman

Dwelling perfection

So I am not super handy and definitely would not call myself a do-it-yourself-er, BUT if anything could inspire me to be one it would be these modular dwellings. The MD100 is essentially a set of plans for a 10 x 10 structure that you could build on just about any flat piece of land. I have visions of getaway in the woods behind the house that I don't own.

Holstee Manifesto

Every morning I look at this manifesto courtesy of Holstee. It inspires me every day and reminds me that I am in control of my own happiness.

Can you make money and do good?

I work in the corporate world and am constantly struggling with how to do good and still pay my bills.  At the moment I am a volunteer pro bono consultant with the Taproot Foundation and sit on the board of a non-profit focused on education (all of which leaves me with little free time, but does help to feed the soul).  If it were up to me I would be in the non-profit sector full time, which is why an article from Fast Company that came across my desk yesterday titled "5 Ways to Make Money and Do Good," definitely struck a chord. As the article points out, it's not easy but with some dedication and varying degrees of personal risk, it is possible.

"The social impact sector splits neatly between those on a mission and those who support them."

Calling all music lovers

Dave Grohl's documentary "Sound City" seems to have gotten all the hype, but "Muscle Shoals" deserves its fair share too. It tells the story of two legendary studios, FAME and Muscle Shoals, and the extraordinary music that got created in a small Alabama town. The musicians and producers that got inspired there do their best to explain what makes it so special.

Outstanding in the field

They call themselves a roving culinary adventure - how fun does that sound? -but it's really so much more spectacular than that (see pics below). This group of culinary wanderers travel the country connecting people with beautiful spaces and local foods. Tickets just went on sale for their new season!

Brain Pickings

I am a huge fan of Brain Pickings. Maria Popova, the creative genius behind this amazing collection of "interestingness," has put a human and historical lens on what matters in the world and why, "bringing you things you didn't know you were interested in - until you are." And every word of that is true.  There is so much to choose from, but a recent post about The Daily Routines of Famous Writers struck a chord for me as I try my hand at blogging. In it you will find thoughts from the likes of Joan Didion and E.B. White to name two. Here is an excerpt from Ernest Hemingway, who famously wrote standing, I particularly like:

"When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write. You read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there. You write until you come to a place where you still have your juice and know what will happen next and you stop and try to live through until the next day when you hit it again. You have started at six in the morning, say, and may go on until noon or be through before that. When you stop you are as empty, and at the same time never empty but filling, as when you have made love to someone you love. Nothing can hurt you, nothing can happen, nothing means anything until the next day when you do it again. It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through."

The Great Discontent

Every Tuesday Ryan and Tina from The Great Discontent publish an interview with a creative; someone who has taken a risk and explored their creativity often to a remarkable end. They first caught my attention with an interview with Scott and Vik Harrison of charity : water, but now I'm hooked and look forward to getting a new interview each week. Check it out, you'll no doubt walk away inspired.

Welcome and a little bit about me

About this blog:

What you will find here are people, places, images, ideas and stories that inspire me to think bigger, do better and know more. 

Things I care about:
Doing good, giving back, belly laughs, wine and adventure

My bucket list (in no particular order):

1. Run a not-for-profit

2. Road trip in an old VW van around New Zealand

3. Have a home in the vicinity of hiking trails (I currently live in a studio in NYC)

4. Safari in Africa

5. Write someplace other people will see (now you know why I really started this blog)

6. Visit Patagonia - Chilean & Argentinean side

7. Have a family